Dave Chappelle has released a new Netflix special, The Dreamer, which is full of jokes about the trans community and disabled people.
“I love punching down!” he tells the audience, in a one-hour show that landed on the streaming service today (31 December).
It’s his seventh special for Netflix and comes two years after his last one, the highly controversial release The Closer.
That programme was criticised for its relentless jokes about the trans community, and Chappelle revisits the topic in his new show.
He tells jokes about trans women in prison, and about trans people “pretending” to be somebody they are not.
“Punching down” also indicates that he thinks he’s somehow on a different level from them. So, it should mean, for example, that he’s making fun of comedians who are less successful than him. Or maybe it means he’s making fun of people who have less money than him.
But, there’s likely a trans person out there who has more money than him, so what does he actually mean? He’s the one quoted in this special as saying “I love punching down!” Those are his words that he chose. Is he saying that he’s inherently better than a trans person or a disabled person?
It used to be popular for white people to think they were inherently better than black people. Talk about a lack of perspective.
OR, ya’ll are missing the joke entirely, in that he doesn’t think he’s ‘punching down’… nore is he making fun of who you think he is.
In fact, the joke is at the expense of people like those in this thread who are getting bent out of shape taking words out of context. It was tailor made to upset YOU, specifically. YOU, and your unnecessary outrage, are the butt of the joke. He’s mocking those who go overboard with the virtue signaling, and you all here are taking the bait hook, line & sinker.
There is a problem right now with self elected ‘thought police’ trying to remove all discourse, and that is VERY unhealthy for a liberal society. Totalitarianism is not healthy, no matter what your motivation is. Sacred cows are ALWAYS something to be targeted by comedy & satire, and the left wing totalitarianist word/thought police are very much a valid target, every bit as much as the MAGA idiots. For society as a whole, they are equally as dangerous, the end goal is the same but with different underlying motivations.
That being said, the special was lackluster. It felt like he was contractually obligated to give Netflix another special by the end of 2023 but didn’t have enough material yet & even what he had wasn’t very polished.
Man, don’t waste your time and energy.
Most of these commenters just want to be angry.
I agree with your comment 100%.
When I tell someone to shut the fuck up I’m merely expressing my own right to free speech, I’m not taking away someone else’s right to speak! How is that “thought police”? They are still free to ignore me, they just have to deal with the fact that I disprove.
And that’s what babies like this are really mad about. Baby can’t stand the thought that people don’t like him!
I’m also free to not watch his special, not give him money, and tell other people to do the same. And baby doesn’t like that!
“talk about lack of perspective”
Just a heads up, punching down is a term used in the comedy world. It’s more like, telling a dumb joke that’s easy. It’s an easy win that most people will laugh at, rather than creating humor using actual skill.
How can someone be so confident and yet so wrong? 😂